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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23124043">A Little Hush</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagpieCrimes/pseuds/ConfessionForAnotherTime'>ConfessionForAnotherTime (MagpieCrimes)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Background Relationships, Canon Compliant, Developing Relationship, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Previous Canon Death, Tags May Change, background renora, talks about death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:27:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,400</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23124043</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagpieCrimes/pseuds/ConfessionForAnotherTime</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Navigating the world of Atlas proves to be difficult, so quiet for now. We need to listen for those welcome words of wisdom.</p>
<p>Set following V7E5.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Marrow Amin/Jaune Arc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Little Hush</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh shit. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Clasping hands with Ruby after the AceOps introduced themselves had a lingering feeling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll be working together! Training you guys. I mean, we’re all professionals.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, we are,” Elm emphasized. “Not sure about Marrow though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marrow’s tail stopped wagging and dropped behind him. “Do you have to be so frank about it? Jeez.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The others started to walk back toward the airship, with Clover, Ruby, and Qrow heading over to speak with Ironwood. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I still thought what you did was incredible.” Jaune’s heart skipped as soon as the words left his mouth, and Marrow’s tail began to wag again. “Do you always stop time like that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marrow perked up, and Jaune could swear he saw the faunus’ entire body lift up with a slight bounce. Marrow then frowned, his voice masking the glee at someone asking about </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> semblance for once instead of shrugging off his abilities. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he replied to Jaune casually, holding his hand out to lead the way to the airship with the others. “I’ve been practicing with it for years. It unlocked for me when I was around the time I turned sixteen so I’ve had about six years to focus my skills with it. It’s still difficult to control at times. It’s a pretty powerful semblance.” Marrow puffed out his chest a bit and Jaune kept his laugh on the inside, just smiling at how proud the AceOp was of his abilities. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been practicing with mine for just under a year. I know I should have unlocked it sooner, but it just didn’t happen until a few fights ago. I always felt so helpless before then.” Jaune stopped when he felt a tug on his arm. Marrow had halted behind him and reached out to keep him back from entering the airship just yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Training is important. If you need help, let me know and I can help you. I know it’s not exactly what you’re probably expecting from me after what you saw with Elm, Vine and Harriet so far, but I know how it feels to be the one that no one expects to hold their own.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Becoming huntsmen and huntresses had its own set of perks and even with his own assignment of incredibly simple crossing guard in front of him, he couldn’t help but long for something more substantial. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, since we’re back at Atlas Academy, I want you all to take some time to train. . Yes we can help you but we also have jobs to attend to as well.” Qrow nodded in agreement, and the group started off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With their tasks laid out in front of them, Blake and Yang went with Marrow to run through some of the mine shafts. Nora kept close to Elm. Vine helped Weiss with her glyphs. Harriet tested Ruby’s speed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune and Marrow sat opposite from one another on the airship. Nora practically vibrated in her seat while looking at Jaune, then up to Ren and over to Marrow a few seats down from her. She kept her wiggles going, looking between the three of them. Her leg started to bounce, and Ren put his hand on her knee to stop it, leading her to cover his hand with her own. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is so cool,” she stated to no one, earning a soft smile from Ruby. Jaune drew in a breath recounting all of the possible ways that teams could be split up. Blake and Yang. Ren and Nora. Ruby and Harriet. Vine and Weiss. Oscar and Elm. No that wouldn’t work. There were too many of them and not enough AceOps, with the balance between nine and five proving a little staggering. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune laughed and waved the kids across the crosswalk, spying Marrow coming down the sidewalk with Yang and Blake in tow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you three have fun?” he asked, walking back over to the sidewalk and attempting to ignore the women who had gathered up on the street today to wave at him. He didn’t need anything more than their thanks, but Mantle women were insistent. Marrow snickered, rolling his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We did what we were supposed to, as I see you’re doing.” Marrow’s tail wagged as soon as Jaune looked at him, drawing Blake’s attention. “These two showed me how well they work off of each other. I take it you’ve seen them in action?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune nodded, catching Blake looking down at Marrow’s ass. “Uh-uh, yeah. Blake and Yang have always worked well like that.” Marrow turned, surprising her and Jaune cocked his head to the side. Marrow’s tail. Wagging. Blake. Cat. Oh. “Blake, you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m… fine! Just had quite a few of those creepy Grimm in the mines. But hey it was good practice. Yang, come with me. I think I saw something over here in this shop that I never saw before today.” Blake grabbed Yang’s hand, and Yang waved as she was pulled along. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll be back!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marrow shook his head, turning back to face Jaune. “Are they always that awkward?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Blake is, sometimes. Didn’t you three need to head back to the Academy before heading to Mantle?” Jaune asked, gathering up the last round of children from the school to head home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I figured we would wait for you and save a trip. The kids are done after this, yes?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune nodded, stepping out into the street and waving the children across once traffic had come to a stop. “Last ones yeah. And here I thought you would want to keep with that efficiency.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s more Clover than me. I like making sure the job is done right and well as opposed to doing it so fast I might miss something. He also has that natural good luck charm with his semblance and everything. Sometimes you gotta make sure it’s done right before you stamp it with that approval.” Marrow’s tail kept a steady wag, and he reached behind himself to stop it for the time being. “Does that make sense?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think so. Here, let me go put this back and we can head back to the airship.” Jaune motioned to the stop sign in his hand, counting the awkward steps back to the shed where he kept it. Jaune swallowed as he made his way back to the sidewalk, Marrow waiting for him. He couldn’t help but notice the telltale wag of his tail. He had noticed it that morning when Marrow was helping each of them with their morning duties. He noticed it during their briefing before he made his way over to the school. He even noticed it when he relented and handed Marrow over the cup of coffee that he intended to savor, as the mornings were already wearing on him by the third day of school. “So, did you learn anything useful while you were with Blake and Yang?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I did.” Marrow nodded at the two of them at the shop down the street, looking in the window. “At first, I thought the two of them were relying too much on each other and weren’t playing to their strengths. Turns out, they are the other’s strength.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I could have told you that. Those two have a long history and we’ve only known each other for the last two years. Wait, we’re coming up on three soon.” Jaune chose not to meet Marrow in the face as he spilled what he knew of Yang and Blake, not wanting to see if he held any opinions of them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re both skilled in battle for sure. I usually just don’t see teamwork like that out of huntresses so young. You’re all what? Eighteen? Nineteen?” Marrow asked, tilting his head to the wide with a wink Jaune most assuredly caught, and would have ignored, if his blush hadn’t given him away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I… Ruby is seventeen, but she’s also advanced for her age. Oscar is fifteen? Maybe still fourteen. The rest of us are either nineteen or turning twenty.” Jaune did his best to control his emotions, thinking about warm garbage and Grimm attacks to remove the pink color from his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You though, Jaune.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m twenty. I’m just a bit of a late bloomer.” The blush returned, leaving him confused and caught off guard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh yeah? Why do you think that is?” The airship to take them up to Atlas wasn’t far, and Blake and Yang were already stepping aboard. Red hair flashed before his vision, wrapped in gold. Jaune froze for a moment, then stopped entirely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we should get going. We can talk about this later.” Jaune broke out into a run, waving at the group waiting for them. Marrow chased after. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stupid stupid stupid. This is a working relationship!” Jaune threw himself onto the dorm room bed, Nora looking on from the chair on the opposite side of the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, what’s the problem?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jaune likes Marrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, what?” Nora and Jaune asked in unison.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What makes you think I like him?” Jaune asked, following up his previous question. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you blushed, froze up when you talked with him and otherwise avoided his very obvious flirting for the sake of running back to the airship to spend some time heading back here. Sounds like you like him to me.” Ren rattled off, finishing his word quota for the day and heading into the bathroom to wash off the stink of huntsmen missions and Grimm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ya know, we’ve been together this long, and I still don’t get how he just drops truth bombs like that with so little context and just walks away. How do you deal with that?” Jaune asked. Nora shrugged in return. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just do. He’s right though. I remember you acting similarly with a certain redhead too.” Nora’s eyes fell to her lap. “I know you miss her though. I miss her too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune fell silent with her. Pyrrha. He barely spoke of her since Cinder… Cinder. He had vowed to make her pay as soon as he knew, but the better question was how. Could he make her pay and then move on with his life? Lingering feelings of doubt nagged at him and he felt arms circling around his shoulders, bringing him back to reality. A flurry of emotions ran through him. He settled on confusion laced with regret, guilt, anger, and shame for not doing what he could to keep Pyrrha safe. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know she cared for you. You know she loved you.” Nora took a seat next to Jaune and leaned her head against his shoulder, pulling him in to hug him when he leaned more against her and practically fell into her lap. Jaune buried his face against her legs, barely noticing her fingers combing through his hair as the tears fell onto her new combat jumper. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know. I just wish there was something we could have done.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nora nodded knowingly, keeping her sobs inside her chest as the tears started to fall down her cheeks as well. Team JNPR was not known for its healthy coping mechanisms and dealing with emotions. “I wish there was something we could have done too. You and Ren? You guys are my best friends and I considered Pyrrha in that too. I just didn’t think we would lose her so soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune nodded against her legs, wiping his sleeve across his eyes and sitting up. He tended to Nora, brushing away her tears just in time for Ren to come out of the shower. With a towel slung around his hips, the slight smile faded when he noticed their red eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nora and Jaune sighed deeply, marking their way over to Ren, the two of them hugging him and each other. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We were talking about Pyrrha.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” A somber shift in mood fell over the room, leaving the three of them to hold each other in silence to remember their fallen teammate. “I think about her a lot. I miss her kindness.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nora nodded against Ren’s chest, her head practically tucked under his chin. “I miss training with her in the morning and our talks late at night.” Nora looked away from Ren as a blush spread across her cheeks. “Since we had a few things in common to talk about.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune focused his eyes on the floor, not wanting to say anything. Not yet. He may have vowed to take Cinder down for killing Pyrrha in the first place but that didn’t mean he had.... Properly grieved.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jaune?” Nora asked. “What about you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I miss her laugh. Her hair. Her heart. You both mean the world to me. We’ve been going since Beacon fell and really? I would want to tell her I’m sorry. I would want Pyrrha to know that if I had been better and trained harder, I could have unlocked my semblance sooner and been able to help her. I could have done something. I could have saved her like I helped save Weiss. Maybe she would still be here.” Droplets darkened the fabric at Ren’s shoulder, pulling him in and Nora held him tighter. “I keep running that night through my head and how it could have gone differently so we could still have her here with us.” With me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not your fault she died though,” Nora whispered. “We all had an idea that we were going up against something that could get us killed, but she knew what she had to do. I wish she didn’t have to, but she put all of us before herself.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune nodded quietly, wiping his cheeks against his sleeve again from the fresh set of tears raining down his face. “I know she did. Right before she shoved me in the locker that saved my life, she kissed me. And it’s the most bittersweet thing to happen to me all things considered.” Jaune sighed. “And now I feel like I’m betraying her memory.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because you like Marrow,” Ren stated matter of factly, watching the blush spread across still wet cheeks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because I… Yeah. I mean all the AceOps are cool in their own right but,” Jaune continued, pulling away from the two of them slightly only to be pulled back in with Nora’s arms around their waists. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t think too much about it,” Nora stated. “I’m sure it’s going to work out one way or another.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re probably right.”</span>
</p>
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